The low-down on plants that grow down low! Five great SA native groundcovers for your garden
Every garden needs groundcovers! Read on for the low-down on plants that grow down low.
Groundcovers turn bare dirt into living landscapes in your garden and there are lots of reasons why that's a good thing. Here are a few.
▪️They’re a living mulch, retaining moisture and stabilising soil.
▪️They create protective habitat for small creatures like bluetongue lizards, gekkos, skinks and bugs.
▪️They provide an attractive carpet of foliage (and sometimes flowers), perfect for understorey, garden bed edging and creative landscaping.
▪️Flowers and berries can attract butterflies, bees and birds.
Hardy South Australian native groundcovers? We’ve got you covered.
Cover up those bare patches in your garden with plants that love the local conditions and help attract native wildlife to your garden. We’ve picked five of the best.
Karkalla or angular pigface (Carpobrotus rossii)
- Height: 0.1m
- Width: 2 – 3m
This juicy succulent, with its neon-bright pinky-purple flowers, naturally grows in coastal regions, where it helps stabilise sand dunes.
However, it is happy to grow in many locations and types of soil.
Karkalla loves to grow in full sun, and puts down more roots as its stems spread across the ground.
Both leaves and the plump red fruit have been used as traditional Aboriginal bush foods.
Did you know?
Various pigface varieties are available in Australia, and not all of them are natives.
In fact, the native karkalla is threatened by invasion and cross-breeding with non-natives.
Do our local flora a favour and seek out genuine karkalla (Carpobrotus rossii) from a specialist native plant nursery.
Bower spinach (Tetragonia implexicoma)
- Height: 0.1m
- Width: 3 – 4m
Hardy, vigorous and spreading, bower spinach is a relative of the better-known warrigal greens, and common in coastal South Australia.
Its small, slightly succulent leaves are edible, with a pleasant crunch and mild saltiness.
Small yellow flowers appear along its stalks in late winter and spring, followed by tiny red berries which are enjoyed by birds and lizards.
Bower spinach grows in semi-shade to full sun, with low water requirements.
It can have a tendency to climb and start to cover other low plants, but is easy to control.
Creeping boobialla (Myoporum parvifolium)
- Height: 0.2m
- Width: 2 – 3m
- Butterfly and bird-attracting
Also known as dwarf native myrtle or creeping myoporum, this handy little groundcover is found naturally in South Australia’s coastal areas and Riverland.
It grows into a dense mat of foliage that’s great at suppressing weeds.
During summer months it will produce a mass of tiny, star-shaped white flowers.
A few different variations are available, including a fine leaf, purplish leaf and pink flower.
Popular for garden edges and rockeries, creeping boobialla will cascade attractively and soften hard edges in a landscape.
It’s tolerant of a range of soils and conditions, but grows best in an open, sunny spot.
If it loves your yard, you’ll be pleased to know it grows well from cuttings, so you could turn one plant into many over time!
Creeping saltbush (Rhagodia spinescens)
- Height: 0.5m
- Width: 2 – 3m
Also known as spiny, thorny, or hedge saltbush, this plant occurs naturally throughout most of South Australia, with quite a lot of variation in form.
The kind most commonly cultivated for gardens is thankfully not spiny or thorny.
It has silvery grey-green foliage and a slightly mounding growth habit which can be left to spread, or be sculpted into a low, bushy hedge or border.
Creeping saltbush grows fairly quickly and is happy in full sun to part shade, so is very useful around the base of larger shrubs and trees.
Ruby saltbush (Enchyleana tomentosa)
- Height: 0.3m
- Width: 1 – 2m
- Butterfly and bird-attracting
Small in scale but mighty in ground covering power, the ruby saltbush produces close-growing, thin, upright stems of fine, semi-succulent leaves.
It grows naturally mainly in the arid north of South Australia, and there’s a more upright version that grows into a small shrub.
It will also grow in coastal gardens.
If you look really closely you’ll see the leaves and stems have a covering of miniscule hairs.
It’s an adaptation that reflects harsh sunlight and helps the plant to survive in hot, dry conditions.
It’s naturally found mainly in South Australia’s arid north-east.
The fine hairs also lend the plant an attractive silvery grey appearance.
In summer its small yellow and red edible berries make a striking contrast.
Plant this little beauty to fill in gaps, especially where you need something hardy and low-maintenance.
It’s easy to prune and control if it gets a bit over-enthusiastic in your garden.
Where can I buy native groundcovers?
The groundcovers we’ve listed here are all hardy and adaptable, but they may not grow well in every area of South Australia.
A local specialist native plant nursery is the best place to go for the right plants and advice for your region.
Here are some links to nurseries and lists, and for other regions, contact your local Landscape Board.
State Flora (Belair and Murray Bridge)
Native plant nurseries in Adelaide | Green Adelaide
Native plant nurseries list: Landscape SA Hills and Fleurieu
Northern and Yorke Landscape Board native plant nurseries list
Native KI plants… | Landscape South Australia - Kangaroo Island
Native groundcover planting tips
These ground covering species are all very hardy once established, but may need a spot of TLC to begin with, particularly if you buy young tubestock.
Plant in a slight ‘well’ to direct water to the roots.
Good soaking rather than frequent light sprinkles of water will encourage the roots to grow deeper.
Because they are so low to the ground, baby groundcovers can be easily trodden on or become buried in soil and mulch that birds kick around in your garden.
A protective surround is helpful. Try a border of bricks or rocks, or a collar cut from a plastic milk carton.
A little care, and before long your plants should be able to hold their own, adding beauty and biodiversity benefits to your landscape.
Like to read more about native plants for your garden? Try these:
5 South Australian native trees that are great for suburban gardens
5 flowering natives to add colour to your spring garden
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